Elections

A spokesman for the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) committee scrutinising an organic bill on the election of MPs has denied a rumour the panel has been instructed to derail the bill to further delay the general election expected late this year. The committee will try to finish deliberation of the bill by the Jan 26 deadline before forwarding it to the NLA, panel spokesman Taweesak Suthakavatin said yesterday.He said the panel was not under pressure despite the bill having drawn much public attention.The panel is doing its duty and there have been no instructions for it to derail the bill in order to delay the election expected in November, Mr Taweesak said.He said the committee was unable agree to a proposal from several panel members that the Election Commission (EC) be given more power to search the houses and vehicles of poll candidates without the need to seek a court warrant.Seree Suwannapanon, who sits on the scrutiny committee, said the panel believed the proposal would … [Read more...] about Panel looking at MP election law denies plot to delay polls

WASHINGTON—Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III has told U.S. President Donald Trump’s legal team that his office is likely to seek an interview with the president, triggering a discussion among his attorneys about how to avoid a sit-down encounter or set limits on such a session, according to two people familiar with the talks.Mueller raised the issue of interviewing Trump during a late December meeting with the president’s lawyers John Dowd and Jay Sekulow. Mueller deputy James Quarles, who oversees the White House portion of the special counsel investigation, also attended.The special counsel’s team could interview Trump soon on some limited portion of questions — possibly within the next several weeks, according to a person close to the president, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal conversations. “This is moving faster than anyone really realizes,” the person said. Trump is comfortable participating in an … [Read more...] about Mueller indicates he is likely to seek interview with Trump in election investigation

CAIRO—Egypt will hold its presidential election over three days in March, officials said Monday, with President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi virtually guaranteed to run for and win a second four-year term amid a heavy clampdown on dissent.El-Sissi has yet to formally announce his candidacy, but with less than three months to go before the vote, no candidate who could pose a serious challenge to him has emerged. Nearly all prominent critics of the government have been jailed, left the country or gone silent, while authorities have blocked hundreds of websites and banned all unauthorized demonstrations.El-Sissi has meanwhile drummed up support with official functions in which he touts new infrastructure projects and delivers an upbeat assessment of the economy, which is slowly recovering after years of unrest. Read more: Survivors of Egypt mosque attack speak as president vows to ‘avenge our martyrs’ … [Read more...] about Egypt sets presidential election for March as el-Sissi win virtually guaranteed

There may not be enough time to finish restructuring the local administrative organisations (LAOs) before the general election, tentatively expected towards the end of the year, said Constitution Drafting Committee spokesman Chartchai Na Chiang Mai Mr Chartchai said yesterday the restructuring of the LAOs takes a lot of time, including transferring certain assets from one LAO to another.In principle, he said, the restructuring may not be completed before the elections of the LAOs can proceed.However, in practice, the asset transfer and other restructuring operations can begin before and carry on after the general election, the CDC spokesman added.Mr Chartchai said in his view the restructuring was intended to usher in reforms of the LAOs. However, the work needs plenty of time as it also requires sounding out people's opinions via public hearings under Section 77 of the constitution.Department of Local Administration (DLA) chief Suttipong Juljarern said last month the elections of the … [Read more...] about LAO rejig may miss election deadline

National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster said in mid-December that the US had seen signs of Russia interference in Mexico’s upcoming presidential election. Analysts and officials have warned for some time about the potential for Russian attempts to influence the result of that vote. Such interference would likely be part of an effort to undermine Western countries and US influence around the world. The US has seen “initial signs” of Russian “subversion and disinformation and propaganda” in Mexico’s presidential campaign, according to National Security Adviser Gen. H.R. McMaster McMaster made the comments when asked about Russia during a mid-December event at the Jamestown Foundation in Washington, DC, according to Mexican magazine Reforma. “For example, with Russia we are concerned, increasingly concerned, with these sophisticated campaigns of subversion and disinformation and … [Read more...] about McMaster: US has seen signs of Russian ‘subversion and disinformation’ in upcoming Mexican election